Not sure if you can see what this image is (I took the photo from my window) - I work from home...and everyday I look out onto the sky and directly opposite to another window where for the past few months they've had this cardboard box resting against the window and on the outer side of the box facing me are pictured four monks sitting around a table. Everyday when I see this I reflect on the story that I once heard and it went something like this...
...it's an old story about a group of monks living with their master in a Tibetan monastery. Their lives were disciplined and dedicated, and the atmosphere in which they lived harmonious and peaceful. People from villages far and wide flocked to the monastery to bask in the warmth of such a loving spiritual environment. Then one day the master departed his earthly form. At first the monks continued on as they had in the past, but after a time, the discipline and devotion that had been hallmarks of their daily routine slackened. The number of villagers coming through the doors each day began to drop, and little by little, the monastery fell into a state of disrepair. Soon the monks were bickering among themselves, some pointing fingers of blame, others feeling guilt. Finally, the senior monk could take it no longer. Hearing that a spiritual master lived as a hermit two days walk away, the monk wasted no time in seeking him out. Finding the master in his forest hermitage, the monk told him of the sad state the monastery had fallen into and asked his advice. The master smiled. "There is one living among you who is the incarnation of God..." With those words spoken, the master fell silent and would say no more. All the way back to the monastery, the monk wondered which of his brothers might be the incarnated One. "Perhaps it is Brother Jaspar who does our cooking," the monk said aloud. "Perhaps our gardener, Brother Timor, is the one," he then thought. Reaching the monastery, he immediately told his brothers what the master had said and all were just as astonished as he had been to learn the Divine was living among them. Since each knew it was not himself who was God Incarnate, each began to study his brothers carefully, all trying to determine who among them was the Holy One. Each so concentrated on seeing God in the other that soon their hearts filled with such love for one another the chains of negativity that held them bound fell away. As time passed, they began seeing God not just in each other, but in every one and everything. Days were spent in joyful reverence, rejoicing in His Holy Presence. The monastery radiated this joy like a beacon and soon the villagers returned, streaming through the doors as they had before, seeking to be touched by the love and devotion present there. It was some time later that the senior monk decided to pay the master another visit to thank him for the secret he had revealed. "Did you discover the identity of the Incarnated One?" the master asked. "We did," the senior monk replied. "We found him residing in all of us." The master smiled.
...this story reminds me of the power of our own vision, & what we choose to see and focus on is what will ultimately be our reality...changing our vision of each other (maybe first of our ownselves) could be the start of visibly see a change in the world.
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